I got rid of everything and replaced it with with beds of vegetables. I also ripped out perhaps the scariest thing of all. The grub grass. Grass decimated by grubs. I replaced it with new sod and my yard suddenly had that new car feeling. Only, it was a lawn. This remember, was 6 years ago. My sod now looks sad again. I’m not sure if it’s grubs (I have’t been super-diligent about applying nematodes) or general wear and tear or what but my sod now looks less new car and more like a cobbled together junkyard heap.

Therefore, I’m thinking about replacing my sod again. I know. Get rid of the grass. But I like how it looks and feels on my feet. I like cutting it with my push mower. It isn’t a lot of grass, it acts mainly as a path in between the vegetables.

The first time I did this I was a bit worried about the cost, since I’m cheap and would normally do something like reseed. But reseeding takes a really long time, it can be spotty, you can’t walk on it for months (which was NOT going to work for me) and all of the seed I’ve ever purchased (from cheap to expensive) has come with a few parting gifts in the form of mutant weeds.

So after taking a few measurements and calling around I discovered I could buy all the sod I needed to do my front yard for the whopping sum of … $95. $45 for the sod, and $50 for delivery.

Laying sod is really easy and I realize I might be in the minority here, but I found I really liked laying sod. The prep work was kindda gross, but the actual laying and cutting of the sod was fun and the result is INSTANT. BOOM! Pretty green grass. Just like that.

It’s incredibly simple, but to lay sod and have it “stick” you do have to follow a few steps.

First thing you need to do is get drunk.

Hey!

No.

That’s not right. Sorry … that’s what you do prior to a job interview. Silly me. Here’s how you lay sod …

How to Lay Sod

Step 1. The first thing you need to do (after removing your old sod) is dig up the earth and get it good and broken up.

Step 2. Now rake the soil out so it’s level.

Step 3. Grab some lawn starter fertilizer.

Step 4. Sprinkle the fertilizer over your soil. (instructions on how much will be on your fertilizer container)

Step 5. Shovel a 3″ layer of top soil over everything.

Step 6. Level the top soil with a rake.

Step 7. Lay down your sod in a brickwork pattern. This is your final and most fun step.

Always lay your sod in a brickwork pattern. In other words, don’t have all your edges of sod lining up with each other. Stagger them.

For a better chance of your sod “taking” on all the edges, slightly overlap the sod so it’s a bit too tight, like you see in the picture below. Then step on the 2 edges where the sod meets. It’ll squish down together forming a good bond of soil and sod.

To cut straight lines, lay a plank of wood down and run a carpet knife along the sod to cut it. (carpet knife $8 from hardware store)

Anddd … you’re done. The only part left is to water, water, WATER. You need to water deeply every single day for about a month to ensure the growth of your grass. Letting it dry out even once will spell disaster. It is not allowed to dry out. Speaking of which …

Now you can fix yourself a drink and get drunk.

Unless you have a couple of these. In which case, they can fix your drinks for you.

Congratulations on your first lay.

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Where do you find rental children? I need them to fix me drinks…errr….help me lay sod. Who am I kidding, I need a small child to make me the perfect gin and tonic. Do you go on craigslist, or e-bay, or what?

Do they have rent-a-kid in Canada? Great looking pair. If they can mix drinks they may be able to cook. I’d keep them if I were you. Thankfully, my sod laying days are over. I love that you left grass. Not what I expected at all…….better!

Some semi-related advice: if you’re laying lines on a photo in Photoshop, you can use the ‘Geometry Options’ drop-down in the toolbar to automatically add nice arrowheads to your lines. Avoids the hassle of manually drawing them, looks spiffy and frees up more time for drinking.

Laying sod is very satisfying but I recommend NOT doing it in the rain:). I did that once (my children were too young to mix and deliver drinks but I had trained my husband) and while it made for a really successful sod take, the rolls continued to get heavier and heavier as they got wetter and wetter. Tough! However if you do have the older rental kids (16, 17, 18) you might manage to make them do the lifting – that way you get the benefit of the successful sod without the aching back and BIG BIG muddy shoes. Just a thought.

Is there ANYTHING you can’t do? I used to watch Martha Stewart on TV and I was convinced I could plant a tree after watching her. Now I can lay sod, if I can find a yard that needs it. I was going to email you. I need to know how to regroutt 55 year old tile. Also, how to caulk that teeny tiny line around the place the tub fits into the wooden surround and the vanity meets the sink. I have tons of square and rectangular flagstones. Is it hard to make a patio. Can I just drop them on the grass? Thanks Ann

if you have the gin and tonics first (or your kids make them kinda strong)… you could lay a heringbone pattern instead lol… i hear chevron’s kinda in this year! and for the newbies to laying things… don’t forget to liberate the sprinkler heads through the sod…the water gets out better that way 🙂

of course, if you like your gel nails more than dirt, you can also hire a group of dirty men-boys with sod-layer tans and a banged up pick-up to do it for you–while you “supervise” sipping your gin and tonic–but that’s a whole different kinda post for you Karen! happy summer sod-lovers!

If laying sod in chevron pattern you would need to cut the ends at 45 degree angle. Not that it cannot be done but you will waste quite a bit. And, really, why bother? You won’t see the pattern after a couple of weeks.

My husband and I build houses for a living so I am familiar with all things do it yourself including sod laying,can’t say it was the best lay I’ve ever had but the drinking in the end did produce some nice rental children! Love your blog Karen!http://www.dawnajonesdesign.com/

I’d much rather follow your tips than Martha Stewart’s, anyday…you are so much funnier…..but stay out of jail, please….although,.. she was probably served her gin and tonics there, and heck, we may have even paid for them. Hmmmm….maybe jail wouldn’t be so bad…is there a beach there?

I think jail was good for Martha’s image. I mean, is it just me or did she seem much more laid back once she did time? I feel like she started taking herself much less seriously, which is a good thing. Not that I recommend jail for a lifestyle makeover. Maybe a spa day. 😉

Katrina – The Nematodes were for THIS grass. The last grass was wayyyy too far gone to fix with nematodes. Over the past several years the grubs managed to kill it. So, I laid down new sod and treated it with nematodes because even though I have new grass, I’d still have grubs in the soil beneath. ~ karen!

Sera – I can’t remember exactly what the measurements are, but the 3 areas are around 10’x4′, 10’x 4, and 15’x2′. Plus there are a few other small spots. So say around $50 to do 150 square feet. (plus whatever delivery is) Even if your lawn is 4 times the size it’ll only be $200 plus, probably $50 for delivery. ~ karen!

Families who live on Military bases just lay the sod on the area of the lawn that needs it. Sometimes they even lay it on existing grass to kill weeds. The only thing they do special is to water it so it won’t dry out.

Thanks so much, I live in Lubbock, TX and we plan to put out about 300 sq.ft. of sod tomorrow and I want to have everything ready. Appreciate your help and expertise. By the way, can you find this fertilizer at Home Depot or Lowes? Thanks.

I hate sod. Well not so much the sod, but laying it. About 8 years ago we got a pool and had to have sod around it to pass inspection, so I told my hubs, WE can do it..it’s easy peasy. It took a little convincing but I got him on board with, we will save a lot of money doing it ourselves. So, being a designer he sketched it, mapped it, measures it and then staked out the area with wooden stakes and string. We got the exact number of pieces needed (which was a lot), laid them, watered them, and then admired them for a whole 15 mins before I realized he was having a heart attack. It didn’t killl him, but we avoided the garden area of Home Depot for a long while. Sod PTSD, it’s a real thing. Love yours Karen, it looks beautiful. ❤️

I let my small patch of grass die a couple of summers ago, thinking it is just too much water to waste here in the dryness of southern Arizona. I now need to fill in the stupid, hypocritical, water-sucking, life draining, hole in the ground in which to throw money pool that is right beside the “ex-lawn”. (Anyone thinking of having a pool, rent a place with a pool for a year and take care of everything yourself. Not so much fun!) I am thinking of putting in artificial grass where the lawn used to be. No one will notice the difference. You grass is beautiful, Karen, and I know it feels so lush underfoot.

Good grief sod is cheap in your neck of the woods. I wanted to replace a small strip along the road where a parked truck’s oil had destroyed it and for something like 1×7 metres it was outrageous, and that was just for the sod!

Also, is this post really 6 years old, or are the comments just showing 2012 for fun?